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'A Vampire's Tragedy: One'

Where: Federal Reality Commission Headquarters, New York City, North America, FRC-Earth.
When: 1330 hours, Sunday, January 21, 2001.

"Hacker! Are they out of their minds?"
"Jake, what I'm trying to say is--"
"Are they out of their minds?"
"This is of great importance to the Commission, Jake."
"Are they out of their--?"
"Jake!"
The lieutenant quieted down. The tension had quickly reached the boiling, though none had existed just mere seconds before the briefing.
"This is very important from the boys at the top," Hacker One said, "They need to look good, and they need to look good NOW."
"Throwing our butts into the fire in order to pull their out, is that it?" Jake replied.
He sat back down on the desk and said, "That's what we're paid to do, isn't it?"
Jake put on a smirk and leaned back in his chair, "I've been in the Commission for about six years, ever since I was fourteen. I've been in border skirmishes, planetary bombings, civil conflicts, and internal riots. But THESE people give me the creeps."
"We do what we have to for democracy, Jake. Now, you have your orders. Brief your Reality Jumpers, and get in gear by twenty-hundred hours," Hacker ordered.
Jake watched Hacker sit behind his desk before he began to walk out. In the doorway, he turned around and said with a wisecrack tone, "Why are we waiting for a diplomatic delegation to arrive at eight o'clock at night?"
Hacker picked his head up and replied, "Theirs is a nocturnal culture, Jake."
"THAT'S what I'm saying!" Jake exclaimed, "These people are creepy, and you know half the Commission wouldn't touch these people with a ten-mile tether!"
"Jake!" Hacker shouted, tapping his wristwatch, "Time's a wasting. You have your orders!"
Hacker was under pressure, but he understood the dire situation Jake was given. So he smiled to himself as Jake turned back around, flung his arms into the air and mumbled questionable language.


Where: War Room.
When: 1430 hours.

Chris shrugged, "That's all?"
"That's all."
"Escorting a diplomatic delegation through five days of peace talks is hardly our line of work, O fearless leader," Jackie said.
"Oh, it is this week, Jackie. You haven't heard who we're escorting."
"Well?" Mike asked, "Tell us!"
Jake sunk his hands into his pocket, not being able to hold back for a moment longer, "It's a multinational delegation from Tau 5-2-8."
Groans filled the room, even though there were only seven people seated around the table.
Bryan, however, was ignorant of the reference, and raised his hand, "I don't understand, boss."
Kim quickly responded, "It's an Alternate Earth deep within the Dark Zone. This is one of their capital worlds."
The officer, stunned, was left to drop his jaw and stare into nothing with a look of horror before saying, "Oh, God help us."
"Yeah, well," Jake said, "Divine intervention is not likely around here, mi compadre. Everyone here is going to report to the MediLab for inoculations. We will be at ID-Gateway Bravo at precisely twenty-hundred hours, where we will receive the delegation and escort them to temporary quarters. For the next five days, we will personally attend to their needs outside of negotiations, make sure they are comfortable while they are here."
Karen raised her hand.
"And no," Jake cut her off, saying, "You are not to give them anything that you wouldn't part with, if you catch my drift."
Chuckles from around the table greeted the remark. Anything to put his Jumpers at ease, Jake thought.
"Bravo Gate, twenty-hundred hours. Get your inoculations by then and suit up. Dismissed."
One by one, they got up off their chairs and headed out of the room. Jake said to them before they were out the door, "One more thing! No one below command staff is to know the exact nature of these negotiations. You are not to tell them any specifics about these people or their situation. Break every order if you want, but you are not to break this directive. That's all."


Where: MediLab.

"This won't sting," the doctor said as he prepped to inoculate Jake.
"Hasn't yet, Doc," Jake replied, "Still, sends shivers up my spine every time I think it might."
"Have I ever steered you wrong, Lieutenant?"
"Naw," Jake said, "So when are you going to inject me?"
The doctor pulled his away the instrument injecting Jake from his wrist, saying, "I already did."
Raising an eyebrow and flexing his hand, Jake was impressed, "Well. They just get more and more painless, don't they?"
Walking away from the bed, the doctor scribbled some notes on his pad and told Jake, "That's good for seventy-two hours, so return in a couple of days to be re-inoculated, won't you?"
Jake rose to his feet and replied, "I doubt I'll need THIS injection, Doc. They're just a scary bunch, that's all."
"Still. Oh, the boys in the research lab just finished these little prototypes, and I thought you might like them," the doctor said, picking up a small box and showing it to Jake.
"What are they?" Jake asked before he opened the box. "Contact lenses. I see fine, thank you very much."
"These are special. Put them on."
So Jake did. When they were both floating on his tears, he blinked twice and looked about the room. He shrugged, "Feels like those UV-resistant contacts I see on television. Strong suckers, too. But I got a pair of shades that do the job."
"Hold on," the doctor urged, pointing at the eye chart in the opposite corner of the room, "Now, can you read the bottom line?"
From twenty-five feet, it was impossible for Jake to read the letters, even with twenty-twenty vision. "No, sir. Come to think of it, these lenses don't do a thing to improve--"
"Now, watch closely."
Jake thought his eyes were going crazy. Instinctively, he covered his eyes with his hands and groaned. "Doc! What's the big idea?"
"Relax, Lieutenant!" the doctor eased him, "I just readjusted your lens with this remote. It's completely safe."
"What're you talking about!?"
"Open your eyes, Lieutenant. And read the bottom line, if you please."
Slowly and cautiously, he removed his hands from his eyelids, and gently opened his eyes. Jake blinked twice because he couldn't believe what he saw. "P...E...Z-O-L...C-F...T...D!"
"That's right. That's absolutely correct."
"Amazing. Ocular implants to see closer."
"Up to one-hundred times closer, Lieutenant," the doctor said, "It's the perfect tool for snooping around when you don't want to be seen with clunky old binoculars."
"Craaaaazy," Jake said, even more impressed over his new toys than over the painless inoculation, "Mind if I keep these?"
"They're all yours," he said, handing him the remote.
"Thanks. I gotta get going. Delegation's coming in a few hours."
"Good luck," the doctor said, following him out the door, "Oh, and keep them away from the rest of us normal folk, would ya? I don't want to have to inoculate more people than I have to!"


Where: Interdimensional Travel, Bravo Gate.
When: 2000 hours.

"Sorry I'm late," Chris said, straightening out his uniform, "Permission to join the welcoming group."
"Granted," Jake replied, "Glad you could join us. With luck, we'll probably outnumber them."
Jackie rolled her eyes upward, "God, just one of them is bad enough."
"They'll play nice," their leader said, "They have no choice if they want to keep doing business with the Commission."
"Sir," the technician interrupted, "Incoming transmission. Picking up four life signs. They should be here any second now."
"So they're alive?" Mike asked jokingly.
"That's enough, officer. It's time to greet our...friends."
A hole opened up in the gateway, as light poured into the room. As the gap in the gateway expanded from floor to ceiling, one figure stepped out after another, until four figures stood in front of the interdimensional device, facing the seven officers waiting to greet them.
"As representatives of the President of Earth and the Director of the Federal Reality Commission," Jake said, standing in front of his men, "We formally welcome you into our territory."
"The pleasure is ours," the lead woman, a tall fair-skinned figure wearing a flamboyant dress, replied, "I am Kerri Wilshire, lead negotiator of our world. This is Prince Tad from New Europe, his personal assistant Keaira Donovan, and my assistant Kern McDugan."
"An honor to meet you," Jake said to all while shaking their hands, indirectly instructing his Jumpers to do the same, "Our orders are to escort you to quarters here in the building."
"Actually," Keaira spoke up. With dark and mysterious eyes and skin just as fair as her partner Wilshire, she caught Jake's attention. "The journey was hardly tiring. We were wondering if we could tour your fine city for the night."
"Well," Jake stumbled while clearing his throat, "I'm afraid that's out of the question. Ah, at least for tonight. We have to formally process your credentials and travel visas, and that requires your staying on base for the night."
She and Wilshire bowed. "Of course," Keaira said, "Perhaps tomorrow."
"Perhaps. Now, if you please, we are under orders. This way, everyone."


Where: Elevator Bank East (high-capacity).

One by one, the delegation, along with the members of Jake's crew, filed into the elevator. Chris was the last to enter the car, and the one who held the door open when a voice called out, "Please, hold that elevator!"
It was Lieutenant Jeffries making the request. Jake recognized the voice and knew there might be trouble. He was the one whose team was escorting the other delegation around the building.
"Oh, Jake!" Jeffries exclaimed as his men and the members of the second group of ambassadors followed behind, "I didn't realize it was you."
"Perhaps you should take another car, Kurt."
From the delegation standing in the hallway, a woman peeked out from the crowd and silently greeted Prince Tad, who quickly shied away. The lead negotiators, on the other hand, met each other with courteous, if cold, glances.
"You're absolutely right, Lieutenant. Don't worry about us."
Jake nodded as Chris let the door close, but not before the Prince returned the woman's glance in kind.


Where: Temporary Headquarters, medium security.

The Prince, Wilshire and McDugan were easily whisked to their quarters along the hallway. All that was left for Jake to do was show Keaira around their temporary residence.
"If you need anything," Jake said, "Just get the guy at the front desk on the videocom. If it's an emergency, just hit the red button. We'll be on base all this week so we'll get the signal if you use it. Is there anything I can get you or your delegation? Food? Water?"
Keaira shook her head as they walked along the hallway, "No, thank you. We rarely need such nourishment. Will that be all?"
"Well, I hope I don't have to tell you that you or anyone else in your group are not to go anywhere near the other delegation, or anywhere off-base without us."
"Understood. Don't worry, officer. Despite what you've heard about us," she said, covering Jake's cheek with her hand, "We'll be on our best behavior."
Jake felt no heat coming from her palm. He gently put her hand down, and told her, "That's all I ask. We will escort you to League Headquarters tomorrow evening as scheduled. Until then."
"Until then," Keaira said, grinning. Jake felt no other compulsion than to smile back before heading for the door.
"Double the guard duty," he whispered to the front guard as he stepped out.
Jake entered the main sector of the floor, where the rest of his Reality Jumpers stood to wait for him. They looked on with intent, hoping for a word from their leader. But he let out a deep breath and shook his head.
"Freakin' bunch of vampires."

to be contined

ako zelite citati nastavke ove trilogije... odite na elfwood


Post je objavljen 27.04.2006. u 14:16 sati.